Seems like we're all just talking about conferences lately. The online version of the annual San Francisco Game Developer's Conference will occur in Austin, TX this fall, and will feature some pretty heavy hitters organizing it, including reps from Zynga, PopCap and even Blizzard that will be orchestrating all of the fun and, especially, games going on at the conference.

The conference will once again be in Austin, TX, from Oct 10-13, in the Austin Convention Center. More information at the GDC online website, and be sure to check out the press release below about some of the developers and luminaries advising and speaking this year.

SAN FRANCISCO - UBM TechWeb Game Network, organizers of the Game Developers Conference Online (GDC Online) are revealing the latest game industry leaders from the worlds of social and connected gaming to serve on both the Main Conference and Summit-specific advisory boards for the conference this year.

These industry luminaries, each of whom have rated, commented on and discussed more than 340 submissions for GDC Online 2011, represent companies including Zynga, ngmoco, PopCap, Playdom, CCP, Blizzard and Riot Games.

New members of the GDC Online 2011 Main Conference advisory board, who met in person in Austin, TX to choose lectures last week, include:
Brandon Beck, co-founder and CEO of Riot Games, creators of flagship online game League of Legends. The popular multiplayer title won five 2010 Game Developers Choice Online Awards, including Best Online Game Design, Best Online Visual Arts, Best Online Technology, and Best New Online Game, as well as the Audience Award.
John Blakely, a former vice president at Sony Online Entertainment, and now acting general manager at the Austin operations of Zynga, the company behind major games such as Farmville, Frontierville and Cityville.
J. Allen Brack, an industry veteran in the online gaming space, and current production director at Blizzard Entertainment, where he is responsible for the incredibly popular World of Warcraft MMO franchise.
Industry veteran Gordon Walton, vice president and executive producer at Playdom Austin, the Disney-owned firm behind social online titles such as Gardens of Time, City Of Wonder and Sorority Life.
Joe McDonagh, director of production at PopCap Games, creator of franchise titles such as the 50 million unit-selling Bejeweled, as well as marquee titles with increasing online reach like Peggle, Plants Vs. Zombies, and Zuma.
Programming expert Chris Mayer, founder of Night Owl Games, the company behind massively multiplayer Facebook strategy title Dungeon Overlord, and a veteran of companies such as NCSoft, EA and Sony Online.

In addition to the above Main Conference advisory board contributors, the existing line-up includes veteran board members Richard Vogel, Co-Studio Director, Bioware Austin; Eugene Evans, Vice President, Studio General Manager, BioWare Mythic; Cindy Armstrong, President and CEO, Electric Bat Interactive; Thomas Bidaux, CEO, ICO Partners; Mike Goslin, Senior Vice President & General Manager, Mindspark Worlds; Min Kim, Vice President, Nexon America; Raph Koster, Vice President of Creative Design, Playdom; and Sheri Graner Ray, Studio Design Director, Schell Games.

GDC Online 2011 will also feature new representation on the Smartphone & Tablet Games Summit and GDC Virtual Items Summit advisory boards. Graeme Devine, the veteran game developer who oversaw iOS gaming strategy in Apple's iPhone Game Technologies Division, joins the Smartphone & Tablet Gaming Summit advisory board as the owner of GRL Games, which focuses on bringing interactive entertainment titles to iPhone and iPad.

He is joined by Caryl Shaw, executive producer for iOS and Android publisher ngmoco (We Rule), which specializes in connected mobile games and middleware, and also was purchased by Japanese mobile portal and e-commerce website giant DeNA Co. in 2010.

In addition, industry veteran Hilmar Petursson, chief executive officer of CCP, publisher of the player-driven, persistent world massively multiplayer online title EVE Online joins the board for the brand-new GDC Virtual Items Summit.

"These notable professionals from all corners of the online, social, and connected gaming industry bring prestige, insight and expertise to the GDC Online Main Conference and Summit advisory boards," says Izora de Lillard, event director of GDC Online. "Their contributions further serve to create a robust program for attendees, and keeps Austin at the forefront of new developments in this unique and interesting area of interactive entertainment."

GDC Online will take place at the Austin Convention Center in Austin, Texas on October 10-13, 2011. For more information about the GDC Online Main Conference and Summit advisory boards, please visit http://www.gdconline.com.

About the UBM TechWeb Game Network
A core provider of essential information to the professional game industry, the UBM TechWeb Game Network - formerly known as the Think Services Game Group - offers market-defining content, and drives community through its award winning lineup of print, online, event and research products and services. These include the Game Developers Conference, the Webby Award-winning Gamasutra.com and network of sites, the Game Advertising Online ad network, the Game Developers Conference Online, the Game Developers Conference Europe, the Game Developers Conference China, the Game Developers Conference Canada, Game Developer Magazine, Game Developer Research, the Game Career Seminars and GameCareerGuide.com, the Independent Games Festival and Summit, and the Game Developers Choice Awards.

About UBM TechWeb, a division of United Business Media
UBM TechWeb, the global leader in technology media and professional information, enables people and organizations to harness the transformative power of technology. Through its core businesses - media solutions, marketing services and professional information - UBM TechWeb produces the most respected and consumed brands, applications and services in the technology market. More than 14.5 million business and technology professionals (CIOs, IT and IT Support managers, Web & Digital professionals, Software and Game developers, Government decision makers, and Telecom providers) actively participate in UBM TechWeb's communities. UBM TechWeb brands includes: global face-to-face events such as Interop, Game Developers Conference (GDC), Web 2.0, Black Hat and VoiceCon; large-scale online networks such as InformationWeek, Light Reading and Gamasutra; research, training, and certification services, including HDI, Pyramid Research, and InformationWeek Analytics; and market-leading magazines such as InformationWeek and Wall Street & Technology. UBM TechWeb is part of UBM, a global provider of media and information services for professional B2B communities and markets.